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Week In The News: Democratic Debates, Border Crisis Bill, SCOTUS Rulings, G-20 Summit

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Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., center, gestures towards former vice president Joe Biden, as Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., talks during the Democratic primary debate Thursday evening, in Miami. (Wilfredo Lee/AP Photo).
Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., center, gestures towards former vice president Joe Biden, as Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., talks during the Democratic primary debate Thursday evening, in Miami. (Wilfredo Lee/AP Photo).

With David Folkenflik

An uproar builds over migrant children. The Democrats debate. The Supreme Court issues key rulings. The G-20 gathers. The roundtable is here.

Guests

Ginger Gibson is a national political correspondent for Reuters. She is joining us from Miami, where she is covering the Democratic presidential debates. (@GingerGibson)

Pierre Thomas is the Chief justice correspondent for ABC News. (@PierreTABC)

 Jack Beatty, On Point news analyst. (@JackBeattyNPR)

From The Reading List

Reuters: Democrats clash on healthcare, border in scrappy first U.S. presidential debate

"Democratic presidential contenders battled over healthcare coverage and border policy on Wednesday during a surprisingly heated first debate that laid bare the party’s divisions on whether to abolish private insurance and shift to a Medicare-for-All system."

"In the first round of back-to-back debates, several of the lesser-known candidates vied for attention in the crowded race to take on President Donald Trump, shouting over one another to grab the spotlight and prove they are capable of standing up to the Republican in the November 2020 election.

The Democratic contenders repeatedly attacked Trump, saying his economic policies benefited the wealthy at the expense of working Americans, and calling his border policies heartless."

“'On January 20, 2021, we’ll say ‘Adios’ to Donald Trump,' said former Housing Secretary Julian Castro."

"But they also turned their fire on each other, most often targeting Beto O’Rourke. The former congressman tangled with Castro, a fellow Texan, on border policy, and New York Mayor Bill de Blasio on healthcare.

"The intensity of the exchanges after six months of a relatively mild campaign reflected the high stakes in what could be a make-or-break moment for some of the contenders struggling to be noticed in the Democratic field of more than 20 candidates."

Washington Post: Senate passes $4.6 billion bill for border crisis, but key difference with House remain 

"The crisis on the U.S.-Mexico border took on new urgency on Capitol Hill on Wednesday as lawmakers horrified by a photo of a father and his young daughter dead in the Rio Grande rushed to pass billions in emergency spending sought by the Trump administration."

"The Senate overwhelmingly approved a $4.6 billion bill that would replenish the fast-dwindling budget of the agency responsible for the care of unaccompanied migrant children. But the legislation threatened to get hung up in disputes over a different version of the bill passed by the House with mostly Democratic votes, even as leaders in both chambers insisted they would not head home for Congress’s Fourth of July recess before sending a final bill to President Trump."

“The House will not leave until we resolve the situation at the border,” House Democratic Caucus Chairman Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) told reporters as he left an evening meeting with Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and other leaders. “We’re looking forward to finding common ground with the Senate as well as with the president.”

"Throughout the day Wednesday, as lawmakers discussed the border bill on the Senate floor and negotiated behind closed doors, debate was shadowed by the widely circulated photo of two migrants — Óscar Alberto Martínez Ramírez and his 23-month-old daughter, Valeria — who drowned trying to cross the river into Brownsville, Tex. In the photo, the pair lie face down in shallow water, the little girl’s arm around her father."

“'President Trump, I want you to look at this photo,' said Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.), displaying it on the Senate floor. 'These are not drug dealers. Or vagrants or criminals. They are simply people fleeing a horrible situation in their home country for a better life.'”
Politico: Supreme Court deals setback to Trump administration attempt to add Census citizenship question

"The Supreme Court on Thursday dealt an unexpected blow to the Trump administration's move to add a citizenship question to the 2020 census, ruling that official explanations for the move were implausible and legally inadequate."

"In a surprising decision, Chief Justice John Roberts joined the court’s liberals on that point. The high court returned the case to lower courts for further action, raising doubts about the administration getting the go-ahead to add the question before upcoming deadlines to finalize the census questionnaire."

"Roberts said the administration failed in its duty to provide a “reasoned” explanation for the decision. 'What was provided here was more of a distraction,' he asserted."

"Several lower courts previously found that the administration violated federal regulatory law when it added the question.

The administration argued that citizenship data will assist with anti-discrimination provisions in enforcement of the 1965 Voting Rights Act. However, critics contend that immigrant households could skip the census over fears the information could be used to scrutinize their legal status."

"Roberts wrote in the majority opinion that the administration’s rationale appeared to be 'contrived' and suggested that Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross presented a misleading rationale for adding the question when he said it had been requested by Justice Department officials to protect the rights of minority voters."

New York Times: Heading To G-20, Trump Again Assails America's Friends 

"President Trump, arriving in Japan on Thursday, opened his latest foreign trip much as he did his last one, lashing out at America’s allies, including his hosts, just before sitting down with them to talk through differences on issues like security and trade.
In the hours before and after leaving for an international summit meeting, Mr. Trump assailed Japan, Germany and India. He complained that under existing treaty provisions, if the United States were attacked, Japan would only “watch it on a Sony television.” He called Germany a security freeloader and chastised India for raising tariffs on American goods."
"The choice of targets seemed directly tied to the president’s schedule of meetings on Friday. He is set to sit down with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan, the host of the annual Group of 20 gathering in Osaka, and then jointly with Mr. Abe and Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India. Then he will meet separately with Mr. Modi. After that, he is scheduled to sit down with Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany."
"By contrast, Mr. Trump said nothing critical about the fourth leader on his diplomatic schedule for Friday, President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, whose government waged a systematic campaign to interfere in American elections in 2016 and has arrested two Americans on what critics consider false charges.

This program aired on June 28, 2019.

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